Hanukkah, originally uploaded by waterbum.

May this 8-day holiday be filled with light and warmth, both physically and metaphorically speaking.

Personally, I like the laid-back atmosphere of this holiday (perhaps not so much so in North America, where it has to compete in extravagance with Christmas). Where I grew up, this is just a week like any other week, except that every night there is a party with candle lighting and some fried good. Sometimes it's a small party (just the family) and sometimes it's a little bigger within the community (i.e.: school parties, etc.). It's all about gathering around the lights and enjoying each others' company.

P.s. My apologies for my late greetings; I've been deeply involved with getting my little Holiday Soiree together for last night (which was a lot of fun). It required enormous amounts of cookie baking and truffle rolling... That in the end I got a friend to the rescue to fry the latkes! Now I'm looking forward to nearly 3 lazy weeks with my daughter during her winter holiday from school.